How to See the Apps Tracking You on Facebook — and Block Them

in #facebook6 years ago (edited)

Following a lengthy silence in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where it was revealed that a data firm was able to obtain personal information from over 50 million Facebook accounts, company CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally spoke out on Wednesday.

“We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you,” Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. “I’ve been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Facebook’s top dog then embarked on a small media tour, addressing several of the major concerns highlighted by the unsavory affair. While speaking with the Wall Street Journal, for instance, Zuckerberg said his company has launched an investigation into third-party developers who are “doing bad things” with users’ personal data on the Facebook platform.

But he also admitted that “like any security precaution, it’s not that this is a bulletproof solve” and that no mechanism “by itself is ever going to find every single thing.”

While it’s great that the company is taking a proactive step, the effort is not likely to comfort those users who feel their privacy has already been violated. What’s more, Zuckerberg conceded in the interview that the investigation may take months or more to complete.

In the meantime, options are available to those who refuse to simply wait around while Facebook gets its collective act together.

For starters, stop using the “log in with Facebook” option after downloading an app. It may take a bit longer to create a new account, but the app won’t get instant access to private information from your Facebook profile, which the company itself admits is what happens.

For the apps you’re already using, there’s a fairly simple process for managing the types of data they can access. Or, if you prefer, the same process always you to delete the app entirely.

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I needed to learn this, thank you so much!

Just don't delete facebook, i would say fuck facebook.This piece of shit is wasting our time,energy and our relationship.Every one just leave facebook and join steemit.Thanks for the post.

Is there a way to spoil the data collected? Inputting in wrong information to the point that advertisers would be spending money for useless information.

Thank you for posting this information. It is very important people understand just how easy it is for these 3rd party apps to gather information about you by logging on to them through Facebook. It is always better to make separate accounts for each app or service used.

pretty much ready to delete it as a whole lately, Unfortunately most the people I communicate online still use it as a messenger service and I get more through there then through emails or text. Its bothersome, as I really hate logging into to that site, and have for a very long time.

Some way to mitigate;

  • Get the Badger, the Privacy Badger.
  • Never install the facebook app on any device
  • Don't use Facebook at all, and delete your account and (supposedly) all of your personal data

Resteemed. Thanks for the instructions. After removing unnecessary permissions for the first five or so apps I got sketched out and just deleted them all from my account. In light of the recent news, random apps that want to know my relationship status, work history, and political views are just too much.

Even if the apps use the data responsibly, all it takes is one data breach and all your information is out in the wild permanently.